PEACHES AND CREAMby Jenx
Sexy new tale that has the warrior and bard shopping for fruits and vegetables at a market and then finding some very interesting uses for those.
Doing the groceries is just NEVER gonna be the same after this story ;-) - 7 pgs., 8/16/99http://www.asherasarchive.com/fiction/peachesncreamXG.html

**BOOK I: PRECURSORSby Baermer
This story continues the tale begun in Baermer's excellent THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES. Set in an epic period of Ancient Greek history amidst the saga of the Peloponnesian War, this promises to be a heck of a story. In this first installment, Xena and Gabrielle return to Eleusis where they have once again been summoned by the king, this time to discuss a developing situation which the king fears will soon result in an all out war. Joining them is Pericles, the most powerful Athenian leader and his companion Aspasia - an old acquaintance of Xena's who the warrior fears may be adding fuel to the fires already being fanned by the approaching winds of war. This story is not explicit so far. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! [Book I in the PELOPONNESIAN WAR SERIES] - 77 pgs., 7/16/97http://ausxip.com/fanfic/precur1.html[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

**BOOK II: POTEIDAIA UNDER SIEGEby Baermer
Baermer's war saga continues in this outstanding second book. Having decided to stand with the people of Poteidaia against the Athenian army, Xena and Gabrielle immediately become primary players as the warrior lends the Poteidaians her battle expertise and the bard works to rekindle in her people their sense of community and hope. Even as they try to help the beleaguered villagers, Xena and Gabrielle struggle also against personal challenges as they confront the bard's family for the first time since becoming a couple and begin to suspect that they may be pawns in a very dangerous battle between immortals. This story is exceedingly well-written with an well-structured plot, great characterizations and a romance as epic as the historic events being depicted. Note that this tale is available in both subtext-explicit and subtext-lite versions. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! [Book II in the PELOPONNESIAN WAR SERIES] - 77 pgs., 8/8/97http://ausxip.com/fanfiction/s/siege1.htmlhttp://ausxip.com/fanfic/siege1.html[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

BOOK III: MYTILENE DEBATE (THE)by Baermer
With the siege of Poteidaia now over Xena and Gabrielle face a new challenge - to try to locate a missing Ephiny last seen weeks before when she left the Amazon nation escorting a group of young Amazons to Sappho's school just outside the city of Mytilene. With news that the city is in revolt, the warrior and bard embark on a possible rescue mission with Solari and Epinon. It is a journey that will once again test them physically and emotionally as they struggle with the historic events unfolding around them and with serious issues still unresolved in their relationship. From the keyboard of one of our most accomplished bards, this latest book deals with difficult themes which at times makes it hard to read but like the rest of the series it is very well-written, featuring an intriguing plot and some thought-provoking challenges for the warrior and bard. Note that this entire series is available in both subtext-explicit and subtext-lite versions [Book III in the PELOPONNESIAN WAR SERIES] - 71 pgs., 9/3/97http://ausxip.com/fanfiction/m/mytilene1.htmlhttp://ausxip.com/fanfic/mytilene1.html[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

BOOK IV: THE BATTLE OF AMPHIPOLISby Baermer
The final book in Baermer's PELOPONNESIAN WAR SERIES is now available in its conclusion bringing to an end this epic saga by one of the finest writers currently on the Xenaverse. This last entry in the series finds Xena and Gabrielle both trying to deal with the devastating events depicted in BOOK III. As the tale unfolds, the warrior and bard are being kept from each other by both mortal and immortal enemies. Beyond the physical separation though, they will struggle also in this book with an emotional distance that hurts each to the core and upon whose resolution the very fate of the war will rest. This final entry in the series recaptures some of the sense of family and that special quality in the Xena/Gabrielle relationship which made them such a threat to their enemies earlier in the story. In the series as a whole Baermer does a very nice job of incorporating the fictional with the actual historical events taking place at the time of the Peloponnesian War. Baermer's epic is a noteworthy addition to XWP fan fic which should NOT BE MISSED. Note that this entire series is available in both subtext-explicit and subtext-lite versions - 131 pgs., 10/25/97http://ausxip.com/fanfic/amphip.html[Palm Pilot version available at XENA FAN FICTION FOR THE PALM PILOT]

PENITENCEby Attica
Revealing more about Xena's past, this story reads very much like an actual Greek myth. It has Xena and the bard hurrying to try to save a school trapped between advancing enemy armies - a school run by a former mentor of Xena's with some surprising connections to the gods. A nicely written debut from a new bard. - 14 pgs., 10/10/97http://xenafan.com/fiction/content/penitence.html

**PERSONAL SCROLLS OF GABRIELLE, BARD OF POTEIDAIA (THE)by Baermer
There is nothing that I enjoy more in fiction than a story which reaches deep into the heart, pulling out those emotions and leaving an UNFORGETTABLE impression. This latest offering from Baermer accomplishes just that. Initiated as an experiment in stream-of-consciousness writing, the story is told as a series of diary entries and spans Xena and Gabrielle's life from the time Xena came back from death to the bard's later years. Covering the aftermath of the rift and the period following the events in the episode SACRIFICE, the scrolls chronicle Gabrielle's thoughts throughout those difficult years and the ones to follow, they speak of the hardships people endured in days gone by, they record the experiences of friends and family, and most of all, they reveal a love pure and deep and honest and unmeasurable. The story is beautifully written with an economy of words that adds impact to the narrative. Through Gabrielle's thoughts we get a very solid, very human depiction of the Warrior Princess while the bard's own characterization is skillfully fleshed out to reveal a complex woman - a woman whose experiences in life prove as unique as they are sometimes tragic - a woman who sees the magic in others...yet never in herself. Simply put, this is an amazing read folks! As Baermer herself points out, it warrants a HUGE hankie alert but is equally deserving of jumping right to the top of your MUST READ list. DO NOT MISS this one guys. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! - 24 pgs., 6/28/98http://ausxip.com/fanfiction/s/scrolls.html

**PETAL OF THE ROSE (THE)by L.J. Maas
The second entry in LJ's hugely popular CONQUEROR SERIES begins with the Lord Conqueror looking forward to the marriage that will turn her one-time slave Gabrielle into Queen of the Empire. It's a joyful time for the two as they get more comfortable in their relationship and as the young woman who stole the Conqueror's heart tries to put her past behind her to embrace her new role in Xena's life and the realm. One challenge immediately presents itself, however, when a visitor from the Centaur nation arrives - a very angry young man with a secret connection to the Conqueror and an attitude that could get him in more trouble than he could ever imagine. In the weeks ahead, Xena and Gabrielle will have to deal not only with this visitor but with a long-time presence in the Conqueror's life - a darkness which still resides within the warrior and which only the gentle emotions stirred by her betrothed seem capable of mitigating. LJ maintains the first person narrative style she used throughout the first novel giving us a keen insight into this very different Conqueror whose life is changing so much in her middle years. Her Gabrielle is also a very unique one - a young woman with a tortured past who nevertheless seems stronger for it, displaying an intelligence and quite determination that makes her a fitting partner indeed for the Conqueror of the known world. One to follow closely in the days ahead, this one comes VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - 228 pgs., 2/3/01http://www.academyofbards.org/fanfic/l/lj_rose1.html